December 15th, 2009 
Jojo Agot 
Why don’t you invite people to church?
Most pastors would say this is because people are not very passionate about their relationship with God. I disagree. Why? Read on and see if you can agree with me.
Few years ago, I got these messages from college friends:
Jojo, don’t get me wrong but I’m just curious, why
didn’t you invite me to church when we were in
college? (text message from a college classmate)
…you only asked me if I was okay.
We never really talked about spiritual things.
I would have loved to talk about those kind of stuff…
(translated Friendster testimonial, Nov. 9, 2005)
Of course I was surprised at these messages but when I really thought about it, I came up with five LAME reasons why I didn’t invite them.
1. Our praise and worship was more of a cacophony than music. We had terrible sound system and very loud drums. What will my friends think?
2. My pastor might preach about money and the problems of the congregation. And he usually preaches at least an hour!
3. We didn’t have a nice church building. My friends might think I’m not cool because I go to that kind of church.
4. Someone in the congregation might suddenly cry and speak in tongues (we are Pentecostals). That might freak my friends out.
You see, I think I’m good at blaming other people why I failed to invite friends to church. I guess it’s just harder to admit I was the culprit. So how about you, what are your LAME excuses for not inviting people to church?
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Disclaimer: This was almost a decade ago. No harm intended to my former pastor.
Disclosure: I ended up pastoring that church for four wonderful years. I’ve had my fair share of terrible music and long, embarrassing sermons too.
Note: This entry is part of the Blog Carnival organized by Peter Pollock and Bridget Chumbley. To read more posts on the subject on CHURCH, click here.
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Our excuses are SO lame.. all of them.
My lame excuse is simply: I'm too chicken to ask!
Thank you Peter, I edited the last part when I read your comment, haha.
It's a good thing God doesn't make the same excuses about us that we often make about our churches. Great post.
Indeed! Where would we be if He did?
hahahaha… I think we may all be able to relate to this some. I recently brought a friend to church with me (well it was a substitute church since I'm out of town for awhile) and their music was… ehem… not as good as MY churchs… (I've since repented) and I could see that she thought it to be lacking as well. It made me feel squirmy at first but then God tapped me and reminded me that He loved the music, that He looks at the heart of worship. I told my friend…"It's their heart that matters"… Later she said how glad she was that I had said so because she was learning a lesson about "religious" pride. Agh! We are so silly… yes, so lame!!
Lorrie, I'm glad you recognized what God was saying right there. In my case, it took me four years of pastoring that church to realize I misjudged my pastor! I was thinking he was doing it on purpose. When it was my time to lead the church, I realized he was actually doing great! Oh well!
I worry that the haters in church will hurt people. I want to beg my Youth and their parents to come to Sunday services but the I remember the way that some people act towards the students and I worry for them. I feel like the church needs to be fixed before people can come in. I"m not sure if it's a lame excuse but I keep pushing the youth group and it is growing.
Nick, I went through the same situation. Our "mother church" (organization headquarters) has this same problem. Older members keep complaining about the youth because they're so loud and "unorthodox." They even proposed a separate Sunday service for them. I think it's sad because it keeps people from inviting their friends over.
In the story of the prodigal son, these people are playing the older brother. They're pouting because their comfort zones are invaded by kids who are more excited about Christ.
Because we're all hypocrites and they're not??? At least that's what I've been told by some who don't like to go to church. {sarcasm here} Fear, mostly. That we, they, nothing is perfect … except God.
When people start accusing Christians of hypocrisy, I often shut myself up because most of the time, they got lots of evidence!
Great post, I don't know if it's all about not wanting to go to church, but sometimes more about being scared and little intimidated. Thanks for leaving a comment on my post Jojo. I left you one back on my blog. Nice meeting you
.
Thanks for dropping by JoAnne. Your post made me grind my teeth at 2 in the morning, haha.
I've been guilty of those same LAME excuses… the 'what ifs' can really mess with God's plans if we let them… Great post, JoJo.
Thanks Bridget, it's a pleasure you dropped by. I have a long list of "what ifs" myself. When I think of my college classmate who commented on my Friendster four years ago, I often wonder how many more people missed the opportunity to hear about God because I was reluctant to obey. The sobering thing is that those times are forever lost. I may never be able to reach them again.
Guilty, guilty, guilty- I am so guilty. You are right, they are lame excuses. It takes honesty and/or a wake-up call to get to the bottom of it.
Thanks.
Jason, when I read your comment I wondered if there's anybody in the whole wide world who isn't guilty of this. Probably none!
i usually forget to invite people into my life at all. i just don't usually think of it.
Jojo, my lame excuse lately is that because I work for a denomination (and everybody I talk to already goes to a church) and spend most of the rest of my spare time at work, I don't really encounter people on a daily basis that "need" to be asked to church…
Or do I?
Lately, I've been praying that God would put people in my path that I can invite. Last weekend, an unchurched, very hurting friend came to visit me for the weekend. I really didn't expect her to get up at 6:30 on Sunday morning to come with me to church (I have to be at early service and regular service). But she did. And the rest of the afternoon, she talked about all of the things that God had showed her through the service. Thank God for answered prayers!
Thanks for your post, Jojo! Even if it hadn't been the blog carnival topic, it would've been a timely post.
Our pastor often say that the problem with older Christians is that they've been in the church long enough that they no longer have unbelievers in their circle of friends. He is so right, and I am just as guilty as anybody else!
What I did was I got involved with one to one discipleship with new believers. When they reach out to their friends and family, I meet new people. I also volunteer to pray for those who receive Christ during the Sunday service. After the prayer, I get to talk to them. They become my new prospects for small group discipleship.
Thanks for dropping by, Sarah.
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I've been there, too! nice post….
My lame excuse? I don't think I am ashamed of my Church. I love my Church, but feel that the liturgy can be intimidating for someone who is unfamiliar with it.